Should we or shouldn't we? Albin 36

[JanandDaveF]

Hi my name is Jan,

My husband and I have been boating most of our lives but never in an older wooden boat of the this size. We are considering buying an Albin 36 and were hoping for some helpful pointers from experienced Albin owners regarding what to look for when we inspect our vessel?

We will be taking the boat from the ocean to a lake which could be a costly proposition without even knowing the condition.

Looking forward to hearing from You!

Sincerely,
Jan

[Nancy]

Hi Jan - welcome aboard.

I didn't know that Albin ever made wooden boats. What year is the one you're looking at. Wood boats can be an enormous money pit. Well, so can fiberglass boats, but wood hulls require a lot of ongoing maintenance. I would urge you to have the boat surveyed. It makes no sense to transport to (guessing) Winnipesaukee without being certain of the condition.

While waiting for replies here, I suggest that you visit www.trawlerforum.com. There have been recent threads on old wood boats, and you'll have to take them with several grains of salt, but good points are made.

[JanandDaveF]

Hi Nancy,

Thank you for the kind response. I have since discovered that the boat is probably fiberglass, although we have not seen it yet. We are planning to look at it tomorrow. We thought we would ask for maintenance records however I think having it surveyed is a much better idea.

I see you are an experienced boater and have probably been through this process many times. There is a site that sells a boat history report if you give them the Hull ID. Wonder if it is legitimate?

I'll let you know how things go tomorrow.

Jan

[Nancy]

Hi Jan --

You'll want maintenance records as well as a survey. Likely an engine survey as well.
You'll also want to know about ownership history. Has the boat ever been in an accident? Run aground?
I'm not familiar with a boat history website. I wouldn't waste my money.

Have fun tomorrow!

[jashmen]

Owner of a 1978 36 here. Happy to answer any questions.

[JBrooks]

My slip neighbor has a 1980 Albin 36 and the fiberglass is molded to look like wood.

[DesertAlbin736]

I believe the most common classic wooden trawlers are Grand Banks. Correct me if I'm wrong, but while Albin Marine is a Swedish company, only the Vega sailboats & Albin 25 pocket trawlers are or were the only ones actually built in Sweden. The TE series sport fishers were built in Connecticut, USA & the various classic trawlers like 1970s-'80s 34 & 36 ft & up etc were built in small mom & pop Taiwan yards as were other similar types like CHB, Universal, Marine Trader, etc. Same caveats apply to classic Albin trawlers as with those other Taiwan types, although Albin QC regimes may have been better. We've considered these types a few years ago & there are a lot of potential problems to watch out for. In the end we decided to pass on that option mostly because it would be a situation where the boat would be home ported over 1,000 miles from our home, precluding the ability to check on it on the off season. Will leave that to others to confirm or deny.

[GeorgeS]

Actually the US Albin powerboats were all designed and built in a factory here in Portsmouth RI as far as I know. The factory closed in 2008 but. Many of the employees are local boaters here and can really tell you all you will ever need to know. So can many of the AOG people. I have heard that scuttlebutt about Taiwanese yards before but t hat is simply not factual.

GeorgeS